50861
I can only hope that every SOB that voted for this jerk and his crooked cronies will re-evaluate their voting choices in 2010 and 2012.
VA administrators/employees getting big bonuses, auto industry bailouts, insurance industry bailouts, banking industry bailouts, then bonuses, Cash for Clunkers, the continuing Iraq & Afganistan wars, blah, blah, blah.

By STEPHEN OHLEMACHER, Associated Press Writer Stephen Ohlemacher, Associated Press Writer – Mon Aug 24, 3:23 am ET
WASHINGTON – Millions of older people face shrinking Social Security checks next year, the first time in a generation that payments would not rise.
The trustees who oversee Social Security are projecting there won't be a cost of living adjustment (COLA) for the next two years. That hasn't happened since automatic increases were adopted in 1975.
By law, Social Security benefits cannot go down. Nevertheless, monthly payments would drop for millions of people in the Medicare prescription drug program because the premiums, which often are deducted from Social Security payments, are scheduled to go up slightly.
"I will promise you, they count on that COLA," said Barbara Kennelly, a former Democratic congresswoman from Connecticut who now heads the National Committee to Preserve Social Security and Medicare. "To some people, it might not be a big deal. But to seniors, especially with their health care costs, it is a big deal."
Cost of living adjustments are pegged to inflation, which has been negative this year, largely because energy prices are below 2008 levels.
Advocates say older people still face higher prices because they spend a disproportionate amount of their income on health care, where costs rise faster than inflation. Many also have suffered from declining home values and shrinking stock portfolios just as they are relying on those assets for income.
"For many elderly, they don't feel that inflation is low because their expenses are still going up," said David Certner, legislative policy director for AARP. "Anyone who has savings and investments has seen some serious losses."
About 50 million retired and disabled Americans receive Social Security benefits. The average monthly benefit for retirees is $1,153 this year. All beneficiaries received a 5.8 percent increase in January, the largest since 1982.
More than 32 million people are in the Medicare prescription drug program. Average monthly premiums are set to go from $28 this year to $30 next year, though they vary by plan. About 6 million people in the program have premiums deducted from their monthly Social Security payments, according to the Social Security Administration.
Millions of people with Medicare Part B coverage for doctors' visits also have their premiums deducted from Social Security payments. Part B premiums are expected to rise as well. But under the law, the increase cannot be larger than the increase in Social Security benefits for most recipients.
There is no such hold-harmless provision for drug premiums.
Kennelly's group wants Congress to increase Social Security benefits next year, even though the formula doesn't call for it. She would like to see either a 1 percent increase in monthly payments or a one-time payment of $150.
The cost of a one-time payment, a little less than $8 billion, could be covered by increasing the amount of income subjected to Social Security taxes, Kennelly said. Workers only pay Social Security taxes on the first $106,800 of income, a limit that rises each year with the average national wage.
But the limit only increases if monthly benefits increase.
Critics argue that Social Security recipients shouldn't get an increase when inflation is negative. They note that recipients got a big increase in January — after energy prices had started to fall. They also note that Social Security recipients received one-time $250 payments in the spring as part of the government's economic stimulus package.
Consumer prices are down from 2008 levels, giving Social Security recipients more purchasing power, even if their benefits stay the same, said Andrew G. Biggs, a resident scholar at the American Enterprise Institute, a Washington think tank.
"Seniors may perceive that they are being hurt because there is no COLA, but they are in fact not getting hurt," Biggs said. "Congress has to be able to tell people they are not getting everything they want."
Social Security is also facing long-term financial problems. The retirement program is projected to start paying out more money than it receives in 2016. Without changes, the retirement fund will be depleted in 2037, according to the Social Security trustees' annual report this year.
President Barack Obama has said he would like to tackle Social Security next year, after Congress finishes work on health care, climate change and new financial regulations.
Lawmakers are preoccupied by health care, making it difficult to address other tough issues. Advocates for older people hope their efforts will get a boost in October, when the Social Security Administration officially announces that there will not be an increase in benefits next year.
"I think a lot of seniors do not know what's coming down the pike, and I believe that when they hear that, they're going to be upset," said Sen. Bernie Sanders, an independent from Vermont who is working on a proposal for one-time payments for Social Security recipients.
"It is my view that seniors are going to need help this year, and it would not be acceptable for Congress to simply turn its back," he said.

JimN

08-24-2009, 10:25 AM

If anyone wants SS to last longer, they should stop paying out to illegals and other non-US citizens.

Jorski

08-24-2009, 10:50 AM

Social Security has been underfunded for decades.

TMCNo1

08-24-2009, 11:13 AM

Just another stab in the back,

http://online.wsj.com/img/wsj_print.gif

AUGUST 18, 2009, 1:45 P.M. ET

Obama Underwrites Offshore Drilling

Too bad it's not in U.S. waters.

You read that headline correctly. Unfortunately, the Obama Administration is financing oil exploration off Brazil.
The U.S. is going to lend billions of dollars to Brazil's state-owned oil company, Petrobras, to finance exploration of the huge offshore discovery in Brazil's Tupi oil field in the Santos Basin near Rio de Janeiro. Brazil's planning minister confirmed that White House National Security Adviser James Jones met this month with Brazilian officials to talk about the loan.
The U.S. Export-Import Bank tells us it has issued a "preliminary commitment" letter to Petrobras in the amount of $2 billion and has discussed with Brazil the possibility of increasing that amount. Ex-Im Bank says it has not decided whether the money will come in the form of a direct loan or loan guarantees. Either way, this corporate foreign aid may strike some readers as odd, given that the U.S. Treasury seems desperate for cash and Petrobras is one of the largest corporations in the Americas.
But look on the bright side. If President Obama has embraced offshore drilling in Brazil, why not in the old U.S.A.? The land of the sorta free and the home of the heavily indebted has enormous offshore oil deposits, and last year ahead of the November elections, with gasoline at $4 a gallon, Congress let a ban on offshore drilling expire.
The Bush Administration's five-year plan (2007-2012) to open the outer continental shelf to oil exploration included new lease sales in the Gulf of Mexico. But in 2007 environmentalists went to court to block drilling in Alaska and in April a federal court ruled in their favor. In May, Interior Secretary Ken Salazar said his department was unsure whether that ruling applied only to Alaska or all offshore drilling. So it asked an appeals court for clarification. Late last month the court said the earlier decision applied only to Alaska, opening the way for the sale of leases in the Gulf. Mr. Salazar now says the sales will go forward on August 19.
This is progress, however slow. But it still doesn't allow the U.S. to explore in Alaska or along the East and West Coasts, which could be our equivalent of the Tupi oil fields, which are set to make Brazil a leading oil exporter. Americans are right to wonder why Mr. Obama is underwriting in Brazil what he won't allow at home.

JimN

08-24-2009, 11:14 AM

Social Security has been underfunded for decades.

Underfunded, or depleted due to paying out to people who have no reason to get money from it?

I think it's time to think about increasing the maximum income level, though, not that I have a problem with anyone who is in the high income bracket. Microsoft had literally thousands of millionaires working there at one time and with all of the huge bonuses paid out in recent years, it's clear that the limit is too low but I think this should only apply to people who make more than the max by a decent margin, not those who make barely more. If they raised the maximum to $150K, it's only $3K more for someone making that much but if 1M people are at that level, it means $3B more coming in every year. For someone who makes $1M, the 7.75% on the first $106K only amounts to .8215%, so it's not much of a burden on them. This is about the only way I can see SS not being emptied prematurely.

I also want Congress to pay income/SS tax.

TMCNo1

08-24-2009, 11:25 AM

50866

When will the madness end? This is on Yahoo news.

Latest in Stimulus: 'Cash for Refrigerators'

http://l.yimg.com/a/i/us/fi/gr/businessweek_106x27.gif (http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/bizweek/SIG=qg9nr9/*http://www.businessweek.com)
By Matthew Boyle Matthew Boyle – Mon Aug 24, 8:08 am ET
A $300 million cash-for-clunkers-type federal program to boost sales of energy-efficient home appliances provides a glimmer of hope for beleaguered makers of washing machines and dishwashers, but it's probably not enough to lift companies such as Whirlpool (NYSE:WHR (http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/finance/bw/bs_bw/storytext/aug2009db20090821304909/33147731/*http://finance.yahoo.com/q?s=whr) - News (http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/finance/bw/bs_bw/storytext/aug2009db20090821304909/33147731/*http://finance.yahoo.com/q/h?s=whr)) and Electrolux out of the worst down cycle in the sector's history.
Beginning late this fall, the program authorizes rebates of $50 to $200 for purchases of high-efficiency household appliances. The money is part of the broader economic stimulus bill passed earlier this year. Program details will vary by state, and the Energy Dept. has set a deadline of Oct. 15 for states to file formal applications. The Energy Dept. expects the bulk of the $300 million to be awarded by the end of November. (Unlike the clunkers auto program, consumers won't have to trade in their old appliances.)
"These rebates will help families make the transition to more efficient appliances, making purchases that will directly stimulate the economy," Energy Secretary Steven Chu said in a statement announcing the plan. Only appliances covered by the Energy Star seal will qualify. In 2008, about 55% of newly produced major household appliances met those standards, which are set by the Energy Dept. and Environmental Protection Agency.
The money can't come soon enough for the home appliance industry, which is mired in an unprecedented sales slump that began when the housing market cooled in 2006. Since then that slump has worsened considerably. Shipments of washers, dryers, refrigerators, and ovens dropped 10% in 2008 and are down 15% through July, according to the Association of Home Appliance Manufacturers. "It's brutal," says Raymond James (NYSE:RJF (http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/finance/bw/bs_bw/storytext/aug2009db20090821304909/33147731/*http://finance.yahoo.com/q?s=rjf) - News (http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/finance/bw/bs_bw/storytext/aug2009db20090821304909/33147731/*http://finance.yahoo.com/q/h?s=rjf)) analyst Sam Darkatsh.
a marketing push around rebates
The leading appliance makers have felt the pinch. Whirlpool of Benton Harbor, Mich., which controls about 40% of the U.S. market, has seen its sales drop 20% through the first two quarters of this year. North American shipments for its Stockholm-based rival Electrolux, meanwhile, have dropped for a dozen consecutive quarters. Both companies have laid off hundreds of workers, and General Electric (NYSE:GE (http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/finance/bw/bs_bw/storytext/aug2009db20090821304909/33147731/*http://finance.yahoo.com/q?s=ge) - News (http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/finance/bw/bs_bw/storytext/aug2009db20090821304909/33147731/*http://finance.yahoo.com/q/h?s=ge)) mulled shutting down an entire refrigerator plant earlier this year until deciding to keep it open with a reduced workforce.
Not surprisingly, appliance makers cheered the news. Electrolux spokesman Tony Evans calls the federal program a "great opportunity to encourage consumers to replace their old appliances." Lately, cash-strapped consumers have chosen to repair, rather than replace, hobbled dishwashers and other water-intensive appliances, according to industry analysts. Electrolux says it is readying "aggressive" marketing programs that will run parallel with the rebates, and it's reasonable to expect appliance makers and retailers will devise additional discounts to amplify the rebates' appeal. "We will be ready to go when the new incentive programs hit the market," Evans said.
Unlike the popular, $3 billion cash-for-clunkers vehicle program, which ends on Aug. 24, there's no guarantee that hard-hit consumers are prepared to plump for new washers, stoves, and fridges. The federal outlay will piggyback on rebate programs for energy-saving appliances that have existed for years in more than 25 states, but which have largely failed to spur demand. Home improvement retailers like Home Depot (NYSE:HD (http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/finance/bw/bs_bw/storytext/aug2009db20090821304909/33147731/*http://finance.yahoo.com/q?s=hd) - News (http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/finance/bw/bs_bw/storytext/aug2009db20090821304909/33147731/*http://finance.yahoo.com/q/h?s=hd)) and Lowe's (NYSE:LOW (http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/finance/bw/bs_bw/storytext/aug2009db20090821304909/33147731/*http://finance.yahoo.com/q?s=low) - News (http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/finance/bw/bs_bw/storytext/aug2009db20090821304909/33147731/*http://finance.yahoo.com/q/h?s=low)) have also offered deep discounts on big-ticket appliances lately, with little impact.
"The cash-for-clunkers (program) had a discernible value proposition for the consumer, because he knows how much his (clunker) is worth," says Darkatsh, the Raymond James analyst. "With appliances, there is no trade-in. You can walk into Home Depot and get a great deal on a home appliance any time you want one. Why would it drum up sales now?" Laura Champine, an analyst with Cowen & Co. (NasdaqGS:COWN (http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/finance/bw/bs_bw/storytext/aug2009db20090821304909/33147731/*http://finance.yahoo.com/q?s=cown) - News (http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/finance/bw/bs_bw/storytext/aug2009db20090821304909/33147731/*http://finance.yahoo.com/q/h?s=cown)), agrees. "I'm not sure if it will be as powerful as cash for clunkers because there is something compelling about that $4,500 discount," she says. "Also, a new car is more fun than a new dishwasher. So I'm not sure if it will be as much of a driver, but any driver is welcome right now."
Stock Market Overreaction
Analysts also believe that the stock market's reaction to the program is overblown. Whirlpool's shares rose 6% on Aug. 20 when news of the program circulated, and climbed another 5% the following session. "That's silly," says Darkatsh. He estimates that in a best-case scenario the rebates will equate to about $240 million in incremental sales for Whirlpool. But that's unlikely, as it assumes that every American buying under the voucher program would not have done so otherwise. "The vast majority would have bought them anyway," as purchases of appliances such as fridges and washing machines are far less discretionary than, say, cars or big-screen televisions, Darkatsh says.
The recession's ability to blunt the program's impact was underscored by a call to the California Energy Commission to discuss its approach to the rebate program. The entire state office is on unpaid furlough each Friday in August; no one picked up the telephone.

Jorski

08-24-2009, 01:53 PM

Jimn,

SS was never funded...just a Madoff scheme where money was transferred from payers to collectors.

Harold,

Equating Obama with Hitler...really??...I was once attacked quite aggressively on this site for "disrespecting the office of the President of the United States"

Plus, the girl who is holding that picture, and who made the the assertion that Obama's support of his medical bill was somehow equivalent to actions taken by Adolf Hitler was out of her mind. Heck, she even made Barney Frank look good when he responded to her.

Honestly Harold, I'm surprised you would post something like that. Political disagreement is one thing, but pposting that picture of is just too much.

TMCNo1

08-24-2009, 03:15 PM

I'm proud your a believer, so carry on.

FancySauceRules

08-24-2009, 03:15 PM

SS recipients not getting a COLA seems pretty straight forward. SS is not a black box, we all know the formula to determine the COLA. If you want a bailout, write your congressman, but no COLA is what should have been expected.

TX.X-30 fan

08-24-2009, 03:24 PM

Social Security has been underfunded for decades.

No offence but WHAT??????

There is no fund, lock box, or sh!t pile of money anywhere. Money comes in from taxes and heads back out in SS checks, nothing but worthless IOU's in every account.

Ponzi by the govt. only thing left is to means test and its not far off either. All these social programs have been a total disaster and people want the federal govt. to run health care?? Too funny.

TX.X-30 fan

08-24-2009, 03:26 PM

I see you clarified.

trickskier

08-24-2009, 03:27 PM

WASHINGTON – A new poll says that Americans, concerned over the future of health care reform and anxious about the growing federal budget deficit, are losing faith in President Barack Obama.

The Washington Post-ABC News survey found that less that half of Americans — 49 percent — say they believe the president will make the right decisions for the country. That's down from 60 percent at the 100-day mark of the Obama presidency.

The poll published Friday says Obama's overall approval is 57 percent, 12 points lower than it was at its peak in April. Fifty-three percent disapprove of the way he's handling the budget deficit and his approval on health care continues to deteriorate.

The national survey was conducted Aug. 13-17 and has a sampling error of plus or minus three percentage points.

Van Jones
The founder of the group organizing a boycott against conservative talk show host Glenn Beck is a self-described “black nationalist” and “Communist”, who has ties to a former terrorist and is working in the Obama administration as a so-called “Green Czar.”

Color of Change founder Van Jones worked as a co-founder and director of the Apollo Alliance, which Glenn Beck recently exposed for its questionable ties to radical left-wing groups.

Van Jones worked at Apollo with Jeff Jones, a leading co-founder (along with Bill Ayers) of the terrorist group Weather Undergound. Jones spent time on the run from law enforcement agencies while his group carried out a series of terrorist bombings of U.S. government buildings.

Van Jones himself served jail time over his role in the 1992 L.A. Riots, that killed 53 people. When released, Jones said he came out a “Communist” and founded the communist revolutionary organization Standing Together to Organize a Revolutionary Movement, or STORM. That organization had its roots in a grouping of black people organizing to protest the first Gulf War. STORM was formally founded in 1994, becoming one of the most influential and active radical groups in the San Francisco Bay area.

STORM worked with known communist leaders. It led the charge in black protests against various issues, including a local attempt to pass Proposition 21, a ballot initiative that sought to increase the penalties for violent crimes and require more juvenile offenders to be tried as adults.

Jones has since caused controversy and sowed the seeds of racial conflict over the last 8 years, most notably as an influential role in the “George Bush doesn’t care about Black people” campaign sparked by pop-rapper Kanye West. Jones also was heavily involved in the late 2006 “Jena 6″ case in Jena, Louisiana, when six black teenagers severely beat a white student. Van Jones said the teen assailants were somehow justified because of past discrimination of African-Americans, and race-baiting marches organized by Jones created tremendous conflict in Jena and across the nation.

Jones has now been tapped for the position of “Green Czar” in the Obama administration, where he will serve as the special adviser for green jobs, enterprise and innovation at the White House Council on Environmental Quality. According to the White House blog, Jones’ duties will include helping to craft job-generating climate policy and ensuring equal opportunity in the administration’s energy proposals.

The a black militant political activist group Color of Change began the flailing boycott against Glenn Beck after he exposed Apollo Group and Van Jones’ militant past.